The Australian Christian Lobby urges the South Australian Government not to endorse the Social Development Committee’s recommendations on same-sex parenting because it is not in the best interests of children.

ACL’s acting South Australian Director Rob Ward rejected the committee’s seven recommendations which would prevent children from having a mother and a father.

“The changes proposed to allow single and lesbian women access to assisted reproductive technology and to allow same-sex couples access to adoption and surrogacy would stop children at least beginning life with a mother and father,” he said.

“This should not be seen as a same-sex parenting issue but as being about children’s rights. All things being equal, children have the right to both a mother and a father.

“When it comes to assisted reproduction, children have a fundamental right to be born from natural human origins and, if at all possible, to know and be raised by their biological mother and father.

“Surrogacy is fraught with emotional, biological and legal complexities for children, as well as for women who carry someone else’s baby,” he said.

“Last week’s news about the mother of the first child under Queensland surrogacy law regretting giving up her baby should be a warning to politicians about the complexities.

“Just as the desire to nurture a child is entirely natural for a mother, so is the desire of a child to know his or her biological parents. In some cases this is clearly not possible, such as through death or desertion.

“But where it is possible to avoid the situation of a child growing up without a mother or father, the child’s rights should be considered as paramount and put before the rights of adults, regardless of their strong desire for children.”

The Australian Christian Lobby is opposed to surrogacy, IVF, and other methods used to allow single women or men and same-sex couples to obtain children, and opposes Medicare funding of such measures.

“ACL believes that every child has a natural right to know his or her mum and dad, and to be raised in a home with the complementary love, care and role-modelling of a mother and father,” Mr Ward said.